


Down the Rabbithole

by MindyAudacious



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: One Shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindyAudacious/pseuds/MindyAudacious
Summary: Just a bunch of one-shots and short stories I come up with.
Relationships: Valkyrie Cain/Skulduggery Pleasant
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Slipping Away

Valkyrie's eyes went wide as pain surged from her stomach after hearing the gunshot. Fear taking her, she slowly looks down. Panic sets in as she sees a bullet hole in her shirt, blood spreading out from the area, staining her shirt. The man in front of her, Vocifer, smiled with his barrel pointed at her, proud. She barely hears Skulduggery yell her name as her legs fold under her and she collapses.

Her breathing turned shallow as each breath she took came with bursts of unbearable pain. She hears another gunshot, this time coming from Skulduggery, before he's at her side, pressing his hands on the hole in her body. She squeaks in pain.

"I know it hurts," he says. His voice is shaky. "Just hold on. It'll be alright, you're going to be okay." She tears up, using some of the little strength she had left to put a hand on his cheekbone. When his eye sockets turn to look at her eyes she tries a smile.

"It's okay," she croaked

"No," he says roughly. "You're saying that like you're dying. You aren't dying, Valkyrie. We'll get you to the Sanctuary and we'll get you fixed up."

"I... love you... Skulduggery..."

His voice got even more unsteady. "No," he choked out. "No, you aren't saying goodbye. _You aren't dying_."

There were tears falling now. She's never heard so much fear and pain in that voice of his, and it hurt her knowing that she was the reason she could hear such emotions come from him. If he had tear ducts, she knew that he'd be crying, and a selfish part of her was grateful that she couldn't see him cry.

Her thumb carefully rubbed his temploral, trying to soothe the quivering skeleton. She didn't want to leave him. She couldn't leave him. He was her best friend, her partner in crime, he was her everything. But she starts to learn how cruel the world really is as she felt her life start to slowly slip away.

"No..." A hand went to her cheek. "No, Valkyrie, focus. I need you to focus. Look at me, Valkyrie, please. _Please_. I _need_ you, Valkyrie. I love you. Val-"

And she was gone.

Skulduggery watched from a distance as Valkyrie's casket was lowered into the ground. Her tombstone was put right next to her parent's, just like she would of wanted.

He stood there, away from the familiar faces crying over her, away from all the people tossing flowers into the ground with her. He knew that if he stood close he would of lost it. Maybe start a fight. Possibly kill someone. But he didn't want to do that, not during Valkyrie's funeral, she was too good for that. She was too good for him, he starts to tell himself. If he had been a little faster and maybe pushed her out of the way with the air, or maybe if he had hung out with Ghastly more before he was murdered and learned to make those armored clothes then he could of made Valkyrie some.

But he didn't do any of that.

He failed her.

He felt all his energy suddenly leave him and he fell to his knees. A part of him had been taken from him. He needed to be angry, he needed someone to blame. He needed to _kill_.

So he got up and headed to his Bentley. He needed a mission, and the moment he saw the person he needed to arrest, he would kill them instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like depressing stories. Did you cry? I hope you cried. Crying is healthy.


	2. Steak Out

Valkyrie twirled a lock of her hair around her index finger. Her and Skulduggery had been on a stakeout for the past 2 hours, waiting for a sorcerer, his name was Disdain or something, to come out of a cave. She said it was possible he left through another exit, but Skulduggery wouldn't hear it.

"One more hour," he had said, "and if he doesn't come out we'll check it out." That was almost an hour ago. A couple minutes and they'd go in.

She was starting to get hungry. Being on a stakeout made her thing about the fact stake and steak sound very similar, and steak was very, very appetizing. She wouldn't mind a steak right now, in fact she'd rather be eating a steak at a steak house rather than being on a stakeout.

"I want steak."

Skulduggery looked at her. "You say that during almost every stakeout."

"We should get steak for every stakeout. It would make sense, wouldn't it?"

"Not in the slightest."

"But steak is in the name."

"You know that it isn't that kind of steak, or are you actually that much of a bonehead?"

She laughs. "I get it, because you're the one with the bonehead."

He tilts his head. "Technically we both have a skull, mine is just a lot more visible."

She takes out her phone and looks at the time. Two minutes.

"It's called a stakeout, Skulduggery. The word stake in stakeout makes me think of steak, and I start getting hungry. I'm just saying, if we're going to be taking this long during a stakeout we may as well get me a steak."

"I'll be sure to buy you a steak next time we go on a stakeout then."

She smiles. "That's all I ask."

A few moments later and they get out of the Bentley. They walk off the road, onto the grass, sneaking towards the cave. Skulduggery gets his gun ready and Valkyrie clicks her fingers to summon a flame. They stalk into the cave, the air growing damp and cold as they walk deeper in. Just as they reached the end of the cave they notice a small little crawling space.

Skulduggery puts his hand up before slumping. "It's another exit to the outside..."

"I told you! He probably knew we were tailing him."

"But I'm sneaky..."

"Not sneaky enough apparently. You want to know what will cheer you up? Watching me eat steak."

Skulduggery groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys want a steak?


	3. Fancy Suits and Tea

Skulduggery woke up, laying on grass and staring up at trees covering a purple sky. How odd, last thing he remembered was meditating on the chair in his Livingroom.

"Skulduggery!" He lifts his head and sees Valkyrie stumbling out of a forest. "Thank God you're here as well."

His head tilts in both amusement and confusion when he realized that she was wearing a blue dress and a black bow in her hair. She even had black flats, and it was more than out of character for her.

She helps him up as he says, "I didn't know you enjoyed dressing like Alice in Wonderland."

"I don't," she says in a warning tone. "I just woke up here wearing this. I didn't know you had a pink suit." He looks down and realizes his suit was indeed pink. "Do you remember anything?"

"That could of led us here, no. I was in my living room last I remember."

"I was in my bedroom."

They pick a random direction and start walking.

"Well now Valkyrie, as a detective, what are you speculating?"

She looks around for a moment. "Well, I'm in a dress, you suddenly have a pink suit, we woke up in the middle of nowhere, and the sky is an interesting shade of purple." She pauses before frowning. "There's no way."

"There's no other answer, I'm afraid."

"It's literally impossible," she said. "Alice in Wonderland is a children's book. How would we have ended up here anyway? We were just minding our own business!"

"Well, we're either in another dimension, dreaming, or we let our guard down, got kidnapped, and are in a simulation. Sadly, I don't think it's the latter."

"And why wouldn't it be the latter?"

"Because I'm much to careful to get kidnapped."

"Your skull was stolen," she reminded him.

"That doesn't count." He doesn't let her say anything else by picking up his pace. Valkyrie mutters something before catching up.

"Alright, so what if we are in Wonderland? How do we get out? There is a way out, isn't there?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's a way out, but how to get there-"

"The Red Queen," she interrupts. "In the story Alice finds the Red Queen and then... well, I don't recall what happens then, but I'm sure we'll know what to do once we meet her."

The path reaches a clearing and they find a long table filled with sweets, cups, and pots of tea. All the seats at the sides of the table were empty, but at he far end of them a skeleton in a green tux with a pink top hat sat there, sipping on a tea cup.

The skeleton, upon seeing them, stops sipping his tea and tilts his head. Skulduggery tilts his head in a similar fashion.

"Why hello there," the skeleton says in a familiar voice.

"Oh God," Valkyrie mutters, "there's two of them."

"There's no way that's me," Skulduggery says before they walk towards him. "What's your name, dashing skeleton?"

"My name is Skulduggery."

"No, that would be me."

The Skulduggery in a top hat hums. "Well, if you are indeed me, then you would have to be mad like me." He tips his hat slightly. "I'm also known as the mad hatter."

"Oh God," Valkyrie says with more despair, "there's _two of you_. This has to be a nightmare."

"On the contrary," her Skulduggery says, "I'd say two of me could be a delight. We could have stimulating conversations now that there are two geniuses with similar mindsets."

"Now I'm going to go mad," she groans. "This has to be a dream. It has to be." She grabs him, pulling him to a halt. "Slap me."

He tilts his head. "I'm not going to hit you, Valkyrie."

"Then I'll slap you."

"Valkyrie, you wont slap-"

She suddenly slapped him-

-and he jumped awake. He found himself strapped in a wooden chair, Valkyrie strapped in a similar one right in front of him, slowly waking up. A woman looked at them both.

"How was the simulation?" she asked.

It slowly came back to Skulduggery that they had agreed to help the Sensitive by participating in a sort of dream simulation.

Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie as the woman began to unstrap them. "You actually slapped me."

"In my defense," she said, "I was not about to deal with two of you in one place."

"I can't believe you actually slapped me."

"I slapped you in a dream."

"It may not have hurt me physically, but you have definitely wounded my pride."

"If you'd like I can slap you now as well."

"I would rather you not." Now released from the straps of the chair, he stands. "I would like an apology."

She sighs as the woman begins to release her. "I'm sorry for slapping you."

"Apology accepted."

"Good," she nods. "So, we're good now?"

"No." He heads for the door and exits the room.

"Are you serious?!" she yells. "Skulduggery Pleasant, get back here!" He holds back a laugh as she runs to catch up.


	4. The First Sign

"No."

Gordon clasped his hands together. "Please! Just this once!"

"No," Skulduggery said, "I am not going to watch your niece while you give your manuscript to your editor."

It was a snowy winter night in the year 1996. Gordon had been tasked with babysitting Stephanie while her parents were taking a small vacation, as in getting some sleep while they bloody could. Gordon's deadline for his manuscript was coming up, and not wanting to bring Stephanie out in the snow he had called his good friend Skulduggery over to watch her.

"Look," Gordon said, "I won't be long. I'm just going to stop by my editor's place, give her the manuscript, and head right back. You'll be doing me a huge favor."

"You really aren't going to take no from me, are you?"

Gordon beamed. "Thanks Skulduggery, you're the best!" He whips on his coat and grabs his manuscript. "If she gets hungry there's a bottle of milk in the fridge!" He races out of the house, shutting the door behind him, leaving Skulduggery with a babbling little girl in her crib.

Skulduggery looked at her as she pulled at the bars to help her stand.

"You may be cute," he said as if she could understand him, "but that doesn't mean that we'll be friends. In fact, you probably don't want me as your friend. I'm the worst friend you could possibly have. Probably the oldest too, I'm around 400 years old you know."

She mumbles at him.

"I know, very hard to believe. I'd show you proof by taking off the scarf but I may scare you."

She holds her hands out to him and says, "Up."

He tilts his head. "Oh, so you can speak tangible words as well." He walks up to her and picks her up. "I'm quite impressed."

Stephanie giggles and reaches up for his hat. Skulduggery holds it in place, getting a displeasured whine from her.

"You know, I learned how to say tangible words around your age too, although maybe a couple months earlier because I was a genius. Don't take it personally, not everyone can be as smart as me."

She takes her attention away from his hat and grabs at his scarf, flinging it around without actually pulling it off of him.

"Are you trying to be cute? Because if you are then it isn't working. If anyone is cute in this room it's me."

She throws the cloth into the air and it lands on her head, covering half her face. She starts laughing.

Skulduggery tilts his head. "Okay, fine, you're adorable. I said it. Are you happy?"

She grabs the part of the scarf on her head and suddenly yanks at it, the scarf completely falling onto the ground. Skulduggery stiffens as Stephanie looked at his skeleton head.

He braced himself for crying. He wait for the innocent little girl to realize it wasn't a human holding her, but a dead man, a skeleton, a _monster_. He anticipated it, but no crying came. Instead, she reached out and placed her little hand on his cheekbone.

"You aren't scared?"

Stephanie watched as Skulduggery's jaw moved as he talked and laughed in amusement, fingers curiously tapping at his teeth.

He tilts his head. "You are a strange girl, Stephanie Edgely."

Gordon came back in, shivering as he shook off excess snow on his coat and hat. Skulduggery strolled into view as Gordon took his jacket off and placed it on the coatrack. "Welcome back."

Gordon smiled. "Hey, thanks again Skulduggery. How'd it go?"

"Besides not listening to me when I told her not to pull my scarf off, chew on my clothes, or defecate at all in my presence, it went very well. She's sleeping as we speak."

Gordon's smile faded. "She saw you?"

"In all my skeleton glory, yes. To my pleasant surprise she didn't start crying. In fact, she was more curious and amused than anything else."

Gordon smiled again. "Great! That means you wouldn't mind watching her another time, right?"

"Good God no, are you crazy? That child will drive me mad." Skulduggery puts his scarf back on and lowers his hat before heading to the door Gordon just entered from.

"Never ask me to babysit ever again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Valkyrie is best Valkyrie


	5. Alternate Accelerator Scene (Valkyrie)

"You said we'd be together until the end."

He nodded. "Yes I did."

A face flowed up over his skull, an unremarkable face with unremarkable features. He leaned in, and softly kissed her cheek. The face flowed away. He hugged her, then peeled her arms from around his neck, took his hat and put it on her head. He spent a moment angling it just right.

"There," he said. "Looks good on you."

She couldn't speak as he stepped round her. He walked up to the Accelerator. The Engineer watched him impassively. Ravel looked away.

"I love you," Valkyrie blurted out.

She ran at him, and before Skulduggery react she rammed him off his feet. Before he could get his bearings she ran onto the dais and looked at the Engineer.

"Do it."

The Engineer nodded at her. "Very well."

"NO!" Skulduggery stumbled up, but before he could do anything a bright light flashed on the dais, so bright even he had to look away. When he looked back she was gone, as if she was never there.

He ran at the Engineer and shook his shoulders. "Bring her back. BRING HER BACK."

"That isn't possible," the Engineer said in that emotionless voice. "Her existence no longer exists."

Skulduggery dropped to his knees, a choking sound coming out of him. He wanted to cry, to scream, to blame someone, but there was no one to blame, and here was no one on Earth that could calm him down. He still had so much to tell her, to show her, to teach her. When those three words came out of her mouth, those three beautiful strong words, he realized how much she really meant to him. If he had a heart it would of skipped. If he had lungs he would of lost his breath. And now, if he had tears, they would be running down his cheeks. But he didn't have any of those. So, instead, he screamed at nothing.

He couldn't even tell her that he loves her too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was rereading TDotL and wondered how it would go if Valkyrie managed to get on the dais and they hadn't thought about sacrificing Ravel instead.


	6. Darquesse's Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wondered, what would it be like if Valkyrie wore Lord Vile's armor? This is gonna feel like a full actual chapter, so it should be a fun ride. Buckle up.

"I'll be honest," Skulduggery said as they drove to their destination, "I'm not entirely sure we'll win this one." They were driving along a concrete path in the middle of the woods. There was no sign of civilization anywhere, and they hadn't passed any landmarks in an hour.

"You say that before almost every final battle," Valkyrie said. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"No, Valkyrie, I'm serious this time. Every other battle we barely scraped by the skin of our teeth. I don't think we'll be so lucky this time around."

"It's not like this is the first time we're fighting someone who knows their true name. We were able to beat Argeddion and Darquesse, and they were both almost God tier. We even killed Faceless Ones."

"We killed the Faceless Ones with the help of the Scepter, which we no longer have possession of. We beat Argeddion with the help of yours truly and the bit of luck that he killed his alternate self, too stunned to realize what was happening. And as for Darquesse, well you know that we didn't really beat her, she's still very much alive, doing whatever she calls fun in another universe, if she's even still alive. If she is dead, it wasn't our doing, not exactly. This time we're going to be fighting her with just us two."

Valkyrie slumped in her seat. "You really have to be a mood killer, don't you?"

"That's why you love me."

She shrugs. "One of the reasons."

And, as always, they drop the subject after that. They never went further into the subject of what the other reasons are, or how far that love for each other goes, but it's there like a growing baby elephant, and the bigger it gets the harder it is to ignore. The subject certainly hasn't ripened yet, but it was getting more and more tempting to talk about.

Then, they reach it, an empty clearing with only one person standing in the middle.

Valkyrie nervously watches Skulduggery grab the dark suitcase in the back seat, bringing it into his lap.

"I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea of you using the armor without Darquesse around to stop you."

"I'm not either," he admits, "but Vile is the only one strong enough to defeat Reminissa." He puts a gentle hand on Valkyrie's shoulder. "I trust that you'll be able to bring me back. If I die, however, just know that if I was alive I would of cared if you died too."

Valkyrie's voice cracked. "But you'll be past caring by that point." She grinned. "It's weird how that's comforting to me."

He gave her a comforting squeeze. "You are very strange." He pulls her into a hug. "It's been an honor."

"It's been... Pleasant."

He suddenly pulled her away. "God, that was... I can't even begin to tell you how terrible that joke was."

Valkyrie actually laughs despite herself. "I get your humor from you, you know."

"That can't be, my jokes are much more sensible and well thought-out." She rolls her eyes. "If we survive this remind me to give you lessons on better jokes, I don't think I'd be able to stand hearing such a terrible joke ever again."

Before Valkyrie could object he gets out of the car. She grumbles under her breath as she gets out as well.

The atmosphere immediately became heavy again as they trudge over to the woman with short black hair and blue eyes known as Reminissa. She was wearing absolutely nothing, and Valkyrie couldn't believe she wasn't cold as a cool late-autumn breeze snuck through the sleeves of her coat.

"I'm impressed," Reminissa said, "you really didn't bring anyone else."

"You did threaten to kill my partner," Skulduggery said. "I did consider putting her in a room filled with sigils that block magic but I'm sure you would of found your way around that."

"Smart man. I will keep my word and leave her alive, as long as she doesn't have anything up her sleeve that could harm me."

"She doesn't, or at least not currently. After I die, however, whatever she does will be on her because I'll simply be past the point of caring." Skulduggery places the briefcase down next to him. "Well then, shall we begin?"

Reminissa frowned. "You know, I never imagined a fight involving the stake of the world would start off so civil."

"Trust me," Valkyrie mumbled, "it still shocks me as well."

Shadows began to pour out of the briefcase and climbed over Skulduggery. Valkyrie started to take a few steps back, her breath shaking. Reminissa watched in confusion and amusement as it wrapped around him, covering every inch of him before solidifying into black armor. Skulduggery was no longer there, she realized, and her eyes widened as she realized who he was.

"Lord Vi-" but her words were cut off as Vile slammed a wall of shadows into her. She skidded backwards along the grass, kicking up dirt before slamming into a tree. In just the blink of an eye she had gone from six feet away to a good amount of yards. A portal of shadows appeared in front of Vile and he stepped into it. The shadows disappear and she could spot him shadow walking right next to Reminissa as she got up. He summons shards of shadow but she lifts a hand and a bright explosion erupts from her palm, sending Vile flying into the woods. She chases after.

Valkyrie takes a moment to appreciate the silence, or as close to silence as it'll get as explosions and screaming occurred some ways away. Then, she starts walking into their general direction. She does it slowly, giving herself the excuse that she didn't want to ruin the peace she was in. In reality, she was to scared to go near the gruesome battle most likely taking place.

They actually may have overestimated this enemy. She knew her true name, but it didn't seem like she had a full grasp of what she was capable of yet. Argeddion had mentioned it took him some time to get a good grasp of how magic worked, and Reminissa had recently discovered her true name. Perhaps it would be an easy battle for Vile.

This was, however, proven incorrect rather quickly. She found Skulduggery stuck in a tree, unconscious, armor completely off and right below him. Reminissa was in the same tree, pulling herself free from a branch that impaled her torso, screaming in pain with each movement. She was almost free though.

Valkyrie bolted before Reminissa could notice her and grabs the armor. Without thinking she pulls the helmet on and felt the magic surge through her. It was painful, almost unbearable as the rest of the armor began to cling to her. It felt like her heart had both stopped and was about to burst. She tried to scream, and she's sure she did, but she couldn't hear herself over the pain or feel the air leave her lungs. Then, the pain turned to power all at once, coursing through her, restarting the heart she could of sworn had stopped.

Reminissa, now free from the branch and healing, watched in bewilderment as Valkyrie examined herself. Her body moved freely as if she weren't wearing armor at all. She could feel the shadows gently enveloping her in an ice cold embrace. The power didn't feel as strong as Darquesse's influence, but it was close.

A panic filled Reminissa's eyes as she tried shooting a blast of energy at Valkyrie, but Valkyrie raised a hand and shielded herself with shadows.

The simple gesture she did made her body quiver, and she laughed, already drunk with power. It had been far too long since she felt this way.

Reminissa lunged for her, flying them through the woods and using Valkyrie as a shield against the trees. The armor protected her for the most part, but she could still feel the trunks bludgeoning her back. She felt fists raining down on her and realized that Reminissa wasn't using magic. She was too scared, too panicked to focus. Despite the pain, Valkyrie laughed again as they landed back at the opening.

"Stop laughing!" Reminissa cried out, stumbling off of her. "I know who you are!"

"Oh, do you?" Valkyrie used shadows to help her stand back up.

"I watched you kill my wife, you killed her with that exact laugh." Valkyrie frowned. "You're _Darquesse_."

She whipped her hand out. Tendrils of shadows wrapped around Reminissa's throat. Valkyrie pulled her hand towards her, dragging Reminissa closer to her until their faces were inches away.

Valkyrie snarled. "I am _not_ Darquesse." Valkyrie slowly started to clench her hand, choking her.

Reminissa gagged and tried to force coughs out of the little airway she had. "Then... who... are you...?"

Valkyrie opened her mouth to speak, but then nothing came out. Her fingers stopped halfway from closing. Her breathing stopped. She looked up at Reminissa, into her eyes, and saw the reflection of the black armor.

Valkyrie pulled her arm back as if her hand had been burned, the shadows recoiling. Reminissa fell to the ground, coughing and gasping, and Valkyrie had to look away. Her breathing quickened. She pulled the helmet off and gasped when the fresh air hit her. She ripped the chestplate off and threw it on the ground, shadows pouring off of her like mist.

She had almost mercilessly killed her without a second thought. She had almost lost herself in the power, and she didn't even have Darquesse. Valkyrie Cain almost willingly killed someone for her own enjoyment. She felt dirty.

"Valkyrie!"

Skulduggery's voice pulled her out of her thoughts in time to catch a glimpse of a bright light. It exploded in front of her, sending her back. Her breath left her as she hit the ground.

She stared up at the sky, not bothering to look up as she heard five gun shots go off. Something hit the ground and the world was silent for a moment. The sound of grass rustling from a distance grew closer until Skulduggery appeared in view.

"Are you OK?" Valkyrie manages a sore nod. "Five shots in the head," he explained before she could ask. "She couldn't heal herself fast enough." She gave another nod. "... Are you sure you're alright?"

"I almost killed her," she blurted. "I almost did it without a second thought. I didn't kill her out of desperation, or with the thought of saving the world. I wanted to kill her because it was easy. I felt like I was Darquesse again, except she's not here anymore. It was me that became drunk with power. It was me that almost killed her. It was me that had fun toying with her life."

"But you didn't."

Skulduggery held a hand out. Valkyrie stared at it.

"I'm trying to help you up."

"I don't think that's the best idea."

He tilts his head. "Valkyrie, power is addicting. You could of killed her, but you managed to snap out of it and you stopped. Everyone has a dark side, and as I've told you before, our dark side is much larger than others' dark side and it's the things we do every day that make up for it. You are a good person, Valkyrie, and you proved it to yourself today."

"I get that."

"Then come on, we need to head back."

"I can't. I think my ribs are broken."

He pulled his hand back. "Ah."

"It kind of hurts to breathe."

"I could imagine."

Skulduggery reaches down and scoops her up. She winces a bit before settling into his arms, finding comfort in his as she laid her head against his intact ribs.

"Can we agree on something?" Valkyrie asked.

"Depends on what that something is."

"I never wear your armor again."

Skulduggery nodded. "I would like to agree on that, but we don't know what will happen in the future. You've proven you can wear the armor, so should a situation where you need to fight arises and I'm, for whatever reason, not there to save you, and the armor is somehow there in your presence, then you may have to take matters into your own hands."

"Then let's agree to try our best to not reach the point where I need to wear the armor."

"I'll certainly do my best."

Valkyrie closed her eyes and turned her head into his chest. "Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the ride. Please exit off the vehicle once your restraints are automatically lifted off. Your nearest exist will be to the right. Thank you and have a nice day.


	7. Hide and Seek

Melissa Edgley opened the door and smiled. "Just give me a moment." She turned her head and yelled into the house, "Stephanie! Gordon is here to pick you up!"

A young girls voice rung. "Coming, mum!"

Melissa turned back to Gordon and smiled again. "Thanks again for watching Stephanie while Des and I go out, I really appreciate it."

Gordon beamed. "Of course! It's always a pleasure to watch my favorite niece."

"Don't let the twins hear that."

"Those little devils know I hate them, I make sure to tell them Stephanie is my favorite every time I see them."

Melissa laughs, and the conversation is abruptly cut as Melissa feels a tug at her shirt.

A fair young girl with shoulder length black hair came into view. "I'm ready," she says, tugging at the black bag on her back.

Gordon leaned down and held his elbow out to her. "Milady."

Stephanie giggled and grabbed it. She turned back to Melissa. "Bye, mum."

Melissa gave Stephanie a kiss on the head. "Bye, sweetie. Don't annoy Gordon too much."

"No promises."

"And don't stay up too late again. Also, no junk food two hours before your bedtime."

"No promises on that either."

Melissa shakes her head as they walked off, Gordon awkwardly hunched over as they walked.

Gordon looked over at Stephanie. "Can I stand back up?"

"No," she said, "you committed."

Stephanie grew curious when Gordon's doorbell rang at around eight-thirty at night. Who could be at the door this late? Definitely not the milkman, and his manuscript wasn't due any time soon. So she disregarded when Gordon said to stay in the Livingroom and continue to color on her paper with her crayons, and instead stalked towards the way he went. Just as she was about to reach the entrance Gordon turned the corner, almost bumping into her. She noticed he looked a bit concerned.

"What happened?"

He bit his lip. "Nothing." There was another knock at the door.

"Who's that?"

"Nobody." The knock became banging. "I need to make a call..." He pulls his phone out and as he dialed the banging stopped.

Stephanie noticed that her hands had gotten clammy and her heart was starting to race. "Did he leave...?" Gordon didn't answer her.

"It's me, Gordon," he said with urgency. "They're here. Why are they here? They aren't supposed to know where I-" He paused. "You don't understand, I have my niece with me. She's only eight years old." Another pause. "Okay. Please, get here soon." He hung up, stuffing the cell phone back into his pocket.

"Gordon, what's happening?"

He knelt to her level and took her hands into his. "Stephanie, we're going to play a game." A banging started at the back of the house now.

"A game?" she asked, baffled that now would be a time to play a game.

"Yes, a game. You have played hide and seek, right? You're good at the game, we've played dozens of times. You need to hide and make sure that no one finds you, okay?" She nods. "Even if they're nearby you have to hold your breath."

"Who's going to be seeking?"

Gordon looked around, as if trying to find a good answer somewhere in the air. Then he looked back at her. "That's a surprise."

Stephanie tried not to tear up. "I don't like surprises..."

"I know, my dear. I don't either." He kissed her forehead. "Now, hide. I'll let you know when the game is over."

Once Gordon let go of her hands she bolted up the stairs. The best area she could think to hide was the secret door in the living room that was disguised as a bookcase. Gordon, however, was in full view of her, and even though it felt like hiding was very, very important right now, she didn't want to risk revealing a secret room that Gordon might not know about, she wanted the secret room she found to stay her secret room. So, instead, she ran into Gordon's library. There was a small space at the far back between a bookshelf and a wall, Gordon's desk right next to it. She would sometimes cuddle into the small space and read while Gordon wrote, glancing at her and talking to her about the story he was working on every so often.

She pushed her back into the tiny space, curling up into a ball and staring at the chair where Gordon would usually sit, the chair now empty. She realized she could have dragged Gordon up here with her and try to stuff him into a similar space right across the way. He was big, but if they pushed the desk into that corner and he ducked under the desk as well he could be well hidden.

The sound of glass breaking came from downstairs, and a scuffle followed. After a few minutes the scuffling stopped. Stephanie's breathing became quick and without rhythm, and she realized that she was scared. She wanted to cry, run out of the house, and run towards home to her mum and dad, cuddling into their safe, warm embrace. But instead, she wiped the tears threatening to spill and sucked in a dramatic breath. She had to grow up eventually, and now was a good time to prove to herself that she wasn't a child.

The door opened, and her once bravery filled mind became blank. Her heart started to race and she wanted to cry again.

Slow, unfamiliar paced steps stalked into the room, growing closer and closer. Stephanie covered her mouth and held her breath. A beefy, hairy hand came into view, falling onto the backrest of Gordon's chair, but the rest of his body was obstructed by the bookcase she was behind.

Then an unfamiliar voice came. It was rough like sandpaper in her ears, and unattractively nasally as the voice muttered, "Where is that bloody book...?"

Two hands were now on the backrest. Stephanie could feel her heart dropping as the voice grunted curiously. Before she could figure out if the curious grunt was directed at her the door to the library flung open with a loud thud.

The man turned around. "And who might you be?"

Then another voice came. This one was the complete opposite of the first stranger. This voice was deep and velvet, healing her ears from the rough one that had cursed her ears just previously. "You've probably heard of me," the beautiful voice spoke. "Solves mysteries, works for the Sanctuary, came back from the dead because his rage was strong enough to bring him back. Ring any bells yet? Judging by your pale face I assume we're getting somewhere."

Stephanie dared a peek. The man right in front of her had her back turned to her. He was stubby, his body features almost square-like. The other figure was right near the door, a fedora, scarf, and sunglasses covering his face. He wore a long coat, the collar pulled up around his head. She wondered how he wasn't dying from heat in that outfit.

"Why would you be here?" the square man asked, his voice shaking like a motor. "I'm not doing nothing wrong!"

Stephanie looked around and spotted a round, heavy looking paperweight on Gordon's desk.

"You're breaking and entering into someone's house on a Friday night. I wouldn't usually mind it, but Fridays are usually easy days where I don't have to do much, so I'm quite annoyed that I had to drive here on my on-the-clock day off."

Stephanie sneaked towards the desk.

"Also," he continued, "my friend is passed out on the floor so that does make me quite furious."

Something fierce boiled in Stephanie's stomach as she heard this, and she clutched the clear paperweight.

"I didn't know he was your friend," the man stuttered. "If I had known, I wouldn't have gotten involved, honest!"

"A bit too late for that. Maybe I would of shaken a finger at you as a warning, just because I'm flattered you're that intimidated by me, but I don't think I'm the only one that's angry."

Before the man could question the cloaked figure Stephanie was already winding up the paperweight above her head.

"How dare you hurt my uncle!" She flung the paperweight right into the back of the man's head. For a second he didn't move, and Stephanie was worried he was about to turn around and grab at her. Then, he fell face first into the floor. He didn't get up.

"Nice shot."

Stephanie looked up at the cloaked figure as he walked up to the man and kneeled down to shackle him with handcuffs.

"You know my uncle?"

He nodded. "I do. We're pretty close friends." He stood, clutching the unconscious man's wrist. "He's helped me during a few occasions where I would be stumped on a mystery. He would give me a new view, think outside the box. Your uncle is smart, he is."

Stephanie nodded, completely but silently agreeing. "Is he going to be okay? My uncle."

"He'll be fine. He's on the couch right now sleeping, but he should be up soon. This man should be okay too."

Stephanie stared at the man. "Would it be possible for him to not be okay?" The cloaked figure tilted his head, almost like he was questioning her. "I... I don't like that he hurt my uncle."

"I'm sure you throwing a heavy globe right into the back of his head will make him feel more pain then what he did to your uncle." He adjusted his hat. "Well now, I should take my leave. Tell your uncle I'll pay for the window damage. Also that I said hello."

The cloaked man dragged the unconscious one out of the room, and as she heard the front door open she realized she hadn't even asked for the man's name.

Stephanie walked down the stairs and sat on the coach Gordon was passed out on. She sat in silence for a good ten minutes before a moan came from Gordon. She looked at him as he shot up, panic in his eyes. Then he spotted Stephanie and relaxed slightly.

"Stephanie, are you alright?!" He went over and searched her for injuries. "Did you get hurt?"

Stephanie considered what to tell him. Then, with a shrug, she said, "Your friend said hello."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie must have bumped into weird or scary situations while over at Gordon's, right?


End file.
